Funnel cakes, fried taters, T-shirts, music and more in Panoply food/souvenir zone

Dave Dieter/ The Huntsville Times. Geoff Beech lets son Colin 2 1/2 of Madison get a bite of his corn on the cob during last year's Panoply

HUNTSVILLE, ALABAMA - When you need to take a break from looking, listening or making art – and that can really build an appetite, right? – there’s an oasis in the middle of Panoply and Big Spring International Park.

It’s called the food and souvenirs area.

The challenge is getting off the bench afterward and getting back into the game to check out the rest of Panoply.

There’s always an interesting assortment of food at Panoply that you often can’t get any other time of the year.

When else can you get funnel cakes, homemade potato chips, lemonade and assorted comfort food?

The Taste of Panoply Awards are Saturday at 2 p.m. in the Buffalo Rock Family Food Tent. Local judges, including The Go! Magazine, will sample the top-selling food.

Need a gift for that hard-to-buy-for-friend? Some of the souvenirs this year include tote bags, the popular local Fred Bread, handmade candles and soaps, Mozart bobbleheads and the Panoply poster by Rickie Higgins and Panoply T-shirt by Jason Morgan.

The Buffalo Rock Family Food Tent across from the Holiday Inn will offer families a place to eat their food and listen to local artists, from Big Daddy Kingfish to Reunion to the Rocket City Chorus.

There will also be tents for lost kids, first aid/Hemsi, Operation Green Team and the Huntsville Utilities H2O tent.